Monthly Archives: March 2010

To Change or Not to Change

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“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”1 “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”2

You’ve undoubtedly read about Swiss watchmakers who, for many years, dominated the world market for watchmaking.

“The Swiss made the best watches in the world and were committed to constant refinement of their expertise. It was the Swiss who came forward with the minute hand and the second hand. They led the world in discovering better ways to manufacture the gears, bearings, and mainsprings of watches. They even led the way in waterproofing techniques and self-winding models. By 1968, the Swiss made 65 percent of all watches sold in the world and laid claim to as much as 90 percent of the profits.

“By 1980, however, they had laid off thousands of watch-makers and controlled less than 10 percent of the world market. Their profit domination dropped to less than 20 percent. Between 1979 and 1981, fifty thousand of the sixty-two thousand Swiss watchmakers lost their jobs. Why? The Swiss had refused to consider a new development”3—the development of the digital watch.

Some time ago I wrote a Daily Encounter with the title, “If the Horse is Dead, Dismount.” Some readers felt that I was suggesting that we change much of what we were doing in the church for change’s sake. I was not suggesting this at all. What I was saying was we needed to make changes in our methodology where what we were doing was no longer effective. The Swiss were right in that watches were still needed. Their mistake was that they weren’t open to adding a new method for watchmaking.

Years ago when I was a director of a youth organization and started changing our method of reaching teens with the gospel, I was told that my methods weren’t acceptable. I was given an ultimatum—either I stayed with the “accepted ways” of doing things or get out. I chose the latter. And that’s how and why ACTS International was founded. (To be perfectly honest I would never have had the courage to start my own organization had I not been “pushed out” of the one I was with.) For the next three decades I majored in publishing outreach literature which has been distributed to more than 40 million people around the world—and is still being distributed by our offices in Australia and, until recently, in New Zealand.

However, here in North America, with the revolution of electronic communications via E-mail and the Internet, had I not been willing to change my methodology once again, my work here would be dead. I haven’t changed the message—just changed the way of communicating it.

Let us learn a lesson from the Swiss watchmakers. If we need to change our methods to be more effective in what we are doing, let’s be willing to make and implement the necessary changes.

At the opposite end of the scale, where even some churches and Christians are making changes just to be politically correct and are thus accepting behaviors that are drastically opposed to what the Word of God teaches—let us, as the Apostle Paul advised, stand firm in the faith and in harmony with the Word of God regardless of what the secular world thinks or the media promotes.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, give me a love for and an understanding of what your Word teaches. Help me to discard that which is out of harmony with what you say, and always stand firm in my faith and hold fast to that which is good—regardless of the pressure to be politically correct. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV).
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (KJV).
3. Quoted by Brett Blair. http://www.esermons.com/.

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Parable of the Pigeons

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“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’”1

Michael Josephson tells about an experiment where “pigeons were put in cages with one green and one red button. In one cage, if the birds pecked the green button they got food every time. In the other, the green button yielded food erratically and the pigeons had to persist to get enough food. In both cases, pecking the red button did nothing. Both sets of birds thrived, learning what they had to do to survive and ignoring the red button that yielded no food. But when the birds that were used to getting a reward every time [when they hit the green button] were put in the cage that fed them only occasionally, they failed to adapt; they hit their heads against the cage and pecked wildly at everything in sight.

“The pigeons were smart enough to learn quickly how to get the benefits they wanted by hitting the green button and avoid hitting the red button which did nothing for them. Sadly, for some of the pigeons, who had been spoiled by getting rewarded every time they hit the green button, were unable to adapt to the new situation which only worked occasionally.”2

How like human beings! Kids who are spoiled by their parents by getting everything they want can find it exceptionally difficult to adapt in the real world when they have to start fending for themselves. Furthermore, they can have major conflicts in marriage if and when they expect their spouse to continue giving them everything they want—be it realistic or otherwise—with little or no effort on their part.

And then for the rest of us, if we would just learn to stop hitting red buttons, we would find that life would be so much more enjoyable and satisfying.

As Josephson said, “Part of being responsible is learning from experience to appreciate the benefits of tenacity and the wisdom of avoiding useless, harmful and self-defeating patterns of behavior.”3

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to always be responsible in everything I do, and have sense enough to avoid self-defeating patterns of behavior. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV).
2. Michael Josephson, Character Counts. http://www.charactercounts.org/.
3. Ibid.

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How to Honor Your Parents

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“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”1

Another Daily Encounter reader asks: “I would like to know what it means to honor your mother and father? My mother and I don’t have a mother-daughter relationship. I used to be so angry and bitter that I wouldn’t allow anyone to get close to me because I kept getting hurt. I tried to discuss my feelings with my mother but she got so angry at me that she hung up the phone and wouldn’t talk to me. I have been told that I am not honoring my mother. I would appreciate your advice on this matter.”

Jane (not her real name) asks a valid question because, without doubt, there are numerous—perhaps mega thousands—of adult children who have an impaired relationship with a parent or their parents. Until these conflicts are resolved, these people are bound to have ongoing conflicts in all close relationships.

However, if you were abused either physically, sexually, emotionally and/or spiritually by a parent or both parents, how do you even respect, let alone honor them? It’s a tough question.

First, I believe we honor our parents most by not allowing their mistreatment of us to stop or hinder our becoming all that God envisioned for us to be.

Second, it is critical that we don’t remain bitter towards our parents, and that we forgive them, because failing to forgive any and all who have ever hurt us is self-destructive. It’s “like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

Third, before we can truly forgive anyone, it is essential that we resolve our hurt and anger towards them. Unresolved hurt and anger is what leaves us feeling bitter and resentful—and blocks forgiveness. For help to resolve these feelings read “Taming Your Anger” at: http://tinyurl.com/tame-anger.

Fourth, we also need to develop healthy boundaries so that we don’t allow our parents (or anyone else) to continue to hurt us. Forgiving people doesn’t mean that we have to like them or allow them to continue to mistreat us. Reconciliation should always be the aim but that is dependent on both parties. Forgiveness is only dependent on the one who has been hurt and thus is a choice. The Bible also instructs fathers [and mothers] not to provoke their children to anger or embitter them.2 So while parents are responsible for what they have done and do, we are responsible for how we respond to what others have done to us. True, we need to forgive abusive people, but we also need to let them know in a loving way that if they continue this kind of treatment of us, we will have to distance ourselves from them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if I have any impaired relationships, please help me to see and resolve what I may have contributed to these situations, and help me to forgive any and all who have ever hurt me so that I will be free from all bitterness and resentment. Furthermore, where I have hurt others, help me to be humble enough to admit it and ask for their forgiveness and do all in my power to reconcile with this person or these persons. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Exodus 20:12 (NIV).
2. See Colossians 3:21 (KJV and NIV).

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Anger and Forgiveness

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“Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly.”1

One of the biggest barriers to forgiving those who have hurt us is our unresolved hurt and anger. More often than not, where there is hurt, there is anger. Both need to be resolved.

Unresolved or buried anger is extremely destructive. This is why the Bible teaches us to resolve it as quickly as possible. Unless we do, it can turn into resentment, bitterness, hostility, and even rage if enough of it is bottled up for long enough. It is destructive to our physical, emotional and spiritual health. It is also very damaging to relationships and can lead to deep depression. Being angry in and of itself is not sinful. It is how we handle it—or fail to handle it—that is either right or wrong, creative or destructive. No matter what the other person does to me, my anger is always my issue and my responsibility. Nobody makes me angry without my permission.

Anger needs to be directed to its source and felt and expressed (not just talked about) in creative ways. Wherever possible it pays to express these feelings to the one who hurt us remembering always to “speak the truth in love.”2 Where this isn’t appropriate or possible, we can write out our feelings as David often did in the Psalms, read out loud what we have written, and then burn or throw away the copy. Or we can express these painful feelings to a trusted friend or counselor. Whatever we do we need to express them creatively and get them off our chest once and for all. This then clears the way for forgiveness; for as long as we nurse grudges and “sit” on our anger, we can never genuinely forgive anyone.

As Paul said, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger!” Don’t sit on it. Don’t deny it. Don’t bury and don’t repress it. Express it in healthy ways. And remember, what we fail to talk out creatively we will inevitably act out destructively in one way or another. For further help read, “Taming Your Anger” at: http://tinyurl.com/b439f.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, when I feel angry, please help me to express it creatively without blaming others for my reaction. And help me always to speak the truth in love. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Paul, in Ephesians 4:26 (TLB)(NLT).
2. Ephesians 4:15.

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Healing Beyond the Test Tube Part IV

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“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”1

Without doubt, God still provides miraculous healings. I believe there is sufficient evidence to validate this. However, if the cause or causes of my illnesses are within myself, it is irresponsible of me to expect God to heal my sickness symptoms and allow me to avoid facing and dealing with the issues that are causing my ills. God simply will not do this. And when we ask him so to do, it is praying amiss. As Dr. Cecil Osborne said, “Only the immature, the childish expect instantaneous, miraculous answers to life’s problems.”

We now know that emotional stress is a major factor behind many of our sicknesses. We also now know that much of our emotional stress and anxiety is caused by unconfessed and unresolved, super-charged, repressed, negative emotions. In other words, as John Powell puts it, “When I repress my emotions, my stomach keeps score.”

Considerable healing is available if we are prepared to follow God’s divine principles for physical and mental health. Cleanliness of body and mind, upright living, a tranquil mind, and confession of our sins and our negative emotions are the great therapeutic tools for health and divine healing. When we follow these laws or principles, God has guaranteed that if we pray correctly, healthier living will follow.

How do I know this is true? I’ve tried it. It works. For one thing, when I learned to get honest with my true feelings and resolved my buried feelings of hurt, grief and anger, I was healed of miserable hay fever and painful bursitis in my shoulders. Sure my body is growing older but in many ways I am healthier than when I was in my mid-thirties. We simply can’t improve on God’s plans. It’s best to get in on them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you again for your Word that gives us wonderful principles for living healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives. Help me to live accordingly. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 4:3 (NKJV).

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Healing Beyond the Test Tube Part III

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“Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes … don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow, too. Live one day at a time.”1

In our series on “Healing Beyond the Test Tube” we said that the first law of health and healing was clean living—that is, physical hygiene, sanitation, and moral living. The second law is being free from stress and worry.

The writer of the Proverbs stated, “A tranquil mind gives life to the body.”2 And as Jesus said in today’s Scripture verse: “Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes … don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow, too. Live one day at a time.”

Dr. William Saddler once remarked, “No one can appreciate as fully as a doctor the amazingly large percentage of human disease and suffering which is directly traceable to worry, fear, conflict, immorality, dissipation, and ignorance—to unwholesome thinking and unclean living. The sincere acceptance of the principles and teachings of Christ with respect to the life of mental peace and joy, the life of unselfish thought and clean living, would at once wipe out more than half the difficulties, diseases, and sorrows of the human race. In other words, more than one-half of the present afflictions of mankind could be prevented by the tremendous prophylactic power of actually living up to the personal and practical spirit of the real teachings of Christ.”3

A Sure Cure

The third law for health and healing is confession and prayer. The modern or medical word for old-fashioned confession is “catharsis.” It means an emptying out. And it is now known that one of the most powerful tools for healing is an emptying out of our supercharged repressed negative emotions of anger, hostility, guilt, fear, anxieties, and all the things that worry and bother us. As someone has wisely said, it is not so much what we eat that upsets us, but what eats us.

But this principle of emptying out or confession is as old as the Bible. Two thousand years ago, James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”4

But the important point to note in finding healing is that the Scriptures didn’t stop at that point. James went on to say, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”5

Before prayer can be effective, genuine confession, or an emptying out is needed to both God and at least one other person. This confession of sins includes our emotional sins and faults such as repressed negative emotions of fear, anxiety, hostility, resentment, etc. as well as our guilt for wrongdoing. These are killers and need to be confessed and emptied out before healing can take place.

To be continued….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to get in touch with all of my negative emotions and everything in my life that is hindering or blocking my healing. And help me to find a safe and trusted person to whom I can confess all my emotions, my failures, and my sins so that I can and will be healed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 6:25, 34 (Living Bible)(NIV).
2. Proverbs 14:30.
3. McMillen, S.I, None of These Diseases, (c) 1963. Fleming H. Revell, Co., Westwood, NJ. Used by permission. P 67. (Note: this book has since been updated).
4. James 5:14-15.
5. James 5:16.

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Healing Beyond the Test Tube Part II

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“If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”1

Yesterday we talked about how an upset mind affects the body physically. Today we continue with the following:

Pain: the Great Motivator

Pain is not only a powerful motivator, but is also a gift of God. Pain or sickness can be a type of “red danger light” to warn us that something is amiss and needs attention. One of the tragedies with the disease of leprosy is that it causes a loss of feeling and pain is not felt. This disease does not cause the loss of limbs. It destroys the feeling in those limbs, and when a limb gets hurt, the leper, because he feels no pain, fails to protect and take care of that member. Eventually, he loses it. So, if we are going to be healthy, we need to allow some of our pains and sicknesses to motivate us to deal with the real cause of our problems, and not merely the symptoms.

Finding a Cure

According to the greatest handbook ever written on principles for daily living, the Bible, the first law of health and healing is clean living—that is, physical hygiene, sanitation, and moral living.

Over three thousand years ago Israel was a young nation and had been held captive in Egypt where there was considerable disease. When God through Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he promised them a health program yet to be equaled by modern science. God said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”2

Ron Vince in Channels magazine quoted the eminent English doctor, Sir William Arbuthnot Lane, who said, “The law of Moses is largely a law of good health. Its practice has made the Jews the healthiest, the most industrious, the richest among the races of mankind.”3

Sir James Cantile, a famous London surgeon, once stated, “We have never yet upset one of Moses’ laws in regard to hygiene, sanitation, or medical teaching. All that the scientists of today with their microscopes and textbooks did was to prove the ancient lawgiver to be right.”4

And Dr. Paul Dudley White, the American heart specialist, said, “It is conceivable that a few years from now we medical men may repeat to the citizens of the United States the advice that Moses was asked by God to present to the children of Israel 3,000 years ago.”5 And that is, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes….”1

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a listening heart so that I will carefully hear what your Word teaches, and give me the good sense and courage to always do what is right in your eyes. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Exodus 15:26 (NIV).
2. Exodus 15:26 (NIV).
3. Channels, August 1975.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.

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Healing Beyond the Test Tube Part I

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“A relaxed attitude lengthens life; jealousy rots it away.”1

Some years ago when I was working in the summer as a CTA passenger bus driver in Chicago to help pay my way through college, an elderly lady, as she was about to alight from my bus, tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Young man, you’re a millionaire.” That was news to me, but then after a pause, she added, “You’ve got your health.”

How right she was. Good health is worth much more than a million dollars and is something many of us can have more of if we really want to. Not everybody, however, really wants to be well. As Dr. Parker points out, some people fashion “imaginary illnesses or disorders in an unconscious attempt to get attention or to escape responsibility.”

Another wise doctor said, “Peace doesn’t come in capsules.” In other words, while we are extremely grateful for modern medical science with all its help and alleviation of human suffering, the greatest source of health and healing still doesn’t come out of test tubes or the pill bottle.

Upset Mind—Upset Body

According to Dr. S. I. McMillen, author of the book, None of These Diseases, one of the major causes of sickness in our society is emotional stress. Dr. McMillen stated, “Medical science recognizes that emotions such as fear, sorrow, envy, resentment and hatred are responsible for the majority of our sicknesses. Estimates vary from 60 percent to nearly 100 percent.”2

“Fatal heart attacks can be triggered by ‘anger in all degrees, depression, and anxiety,’ according to Dr. Roy R. Grinker, [formerly] one of the medical directors of Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. This doctor states that anxiety places more stress on the heart than any other stimulus, including physical exercise and fatigue.”3

Stress in small amounts is often necessary and helpful, but continued stress is damaging. If, for example, you were being chased by a tiger, your God-given emotion of fear would trigger your adrenal glands releasing sudden energy into your blood stream to help you escape. Your hurried escape would also burn up any excess adrenalin. If, however, the “tiger of stress” keeps on chasing you and you can’t get away, the chemical balance of your body is upset and trouble results. Too much adrenalin for too long can cause “high blood pressure, arthritis, kidney disease, and hardening of the arteries.”4

“Other glands are also affected. Simple nervousness in speaking before a public audience is sufficient to cause the salivary glands not to function properly and one’s mouth can become very dry.

“Emotional stress can influence the amount of blood that flows to an organ. Embarrassment can cause the blood vessels of the face and neck to open up to produce blushing, and the emotions of anxiety or hate can so increase the amount of blood within the rigid skull that headaches and vomiting result.”5

I have read, too, that emotional stress can also cause ulcers, rheumatic fever, coronary thrombosis, frigidity and impotence, alcoholism, epilepsy, diabetes, obesity, constipation, diarrhea, hives, hay fever, asthma, back trouble, rheumatic arthritis, polio, many infections, glaucoma, skin diseases, hemorrhoids and many other sicknesses. It also affects the tension of muscles, which can cause severe headaches and muscular pain.

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the wellness principles found in your Word, the Bible. Help me to live in harmony with these so that I can be a more peaceful and healthier person. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 14:30 (NLT).
2. McMillen, S.I, None of These Diseases. (c) 1963. Fleming H. Revell, Co., Westwood, NJ. Used by permission. (Note: this book has since been updated), p 7.
3. Ibid, p 61.
4. Ibid, p 62.
5. Ibid, p 67.

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Solo Deo Gloria

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“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”1

“J. S. Bach became known worldwide for his remarkable musical talent, but he never ceased to credit his Creator as the one who was responsible for his ability. The pages of his musical compositions could well have been used to satisfy a personal pride as his name appeared on them. But he was determined to give glory to God for his accomplishments. So he always concluded his original compositions with the three letters INS. They stood for the Latin words meaning ‘In the name of Christ.’ At other times Bach began his score with the letters JJ, meaning ‘Jesus help’, and then ended his composition with the letters SDG for the Latin Solo Deo Gloria, meaning, ‘To God be the glory.’”2

The problem of pride is as old as mankind … actually it’s older, for it was Satan’s downfall. “I will make myself like the Most High [God],”3 he declared. It has also been the downfall of many a man. “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall,”4 warned King Solomon.

It’s so easy to forget that all that we are and have comes from God—”For in him we live and move and have our being”5—and yet so many of us act as if we were the creator of our talents, the maker of our abilities, and the master of our tomorrows—none of which is true.

On the other hand, humility is not putting yourself down. True humility is acknowledging what gifts we have, abilities we possess, and accomplishments we have achieved—but all the while, like Bach, gratefully acknowledging Solo Deo Gloria—to God be the glory.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gifts that you have given to me. Help me to invest and use these wisely in the work of your Kingdom on earth and always remember to give you the glory. Thank you, too, for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NIV).
2. Harold H. Lentz, Preaching the Miracles, CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, 1999. Cited on: http://www.esermons.com/
3. Isaiah 14:13-15.
4. Proverbs 16:18.
5. Acts 17:28 (NIV).

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Non-sporting Sports

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”1

Once upon a time sports used to be sports. Kids would play together at every opportunity they had. When my boys were kids, they played roller-blade street hockey just about every evening for several years with the neighborhood kids—young and old, big and small alike—and rarely got into any scuffles. They supervised themselves without any parents pressuring them to score or win.

Later one of my boys played team ice hockey. Some of the parents were unbelievable. I even saw one father punch out another father. You’ve probably seen the same kind of thing as so many sports have become incredibly competitive—winning for too many has become everything.

If it weren’t so serious, it would be rather funny or idiotic—or both. As Bill O’Reilly reported, “If there’s one thing worse than a frustrated, would-be coach up in the stadium, it is perhaps an angry soccer Mom: Pattie A. of Greensboro, NC, really wanted her son to do well in soccer. Watching him play a game one day, she took offense at the referee’s ‘unfair’ calls. She also took action: running out onto the field, she punched the official in the mouth. The official was … 15 years old. Socking that kid didn’t play well with the judge, who convicted this overeager soccer mom of assault. She was fined and … banned from all soccer games for three years—a catastrophic punishment for a mother of this sort.”2

It’s sad that many sports today seem to have little, if any, character-building characteristics. Winning isn’t everything. It’s nice to win but everybody can’t win. There are always losers and if kids don’t learn to be good losers, they are going to be in for some big shocks as adults. What is more important is teaching kids to enjoy playing the game and working together as a team. The same principle should apply to high school and college athletes as well.

It’s we parents and adults who need to set the example, for we are the ones who have pressured our kids to perform, and more often than not, just to boost our own ego. In God’s book, winning is doing right, doing our best, and persevering in the face of opposition and discouragement.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to ‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles me, and help me to run with perseverance the race that you have marked out for me,’ and thereby be a true winner in your sight. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 12:1 (NIV).
2. The O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly, p. 115. Cited on: http://www.esermons.com/.

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